Method of stitchdown shoe fabrication



March 10, 1959 s. RITER 2,876,470

.mzmoo OF STITCHDOWN SHOE FABRICATION Filed Jan. 13, 1958 2 Shets-She'et 1 INVENTOR.

SAMUEL RITER BY mm ATTORNEY March 10, 1959 s, RITER 2,876,470

METHOD OF STITCHDOWN SHOE FABRICATION Filed Jan. 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SAMUEL RI TER ATTORNE.Y

United States Patent Samuel Riter, Flushing, N.

Sons, York Application January 13, 1958, Serial No. 708,668 3 Claims. (Cl. 12 142) Y., assignor to A. Werman & Inc., Kings County, N. Y., a corporation of New This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and particularly to an improved method for fabricating shoes of the stitchdown type.

The stitchdown method of shoe manufacture, which conventionally includes a lasted out upper secured to an outsole with a midsole disposed intermediate the two, although offering certain manufacturing economics in contrast with other widely used methods of shoe manufacture, results in a finished shoe having a composite sole portion of undue and often disproportionate thickness. This inherent undue thickness of the sole portion is particularly noticeable in childrens shoes due to their relatively small size and necessary inclusion of an outsole of a given thickness for minimal wearing qualities. The presence of such undue sole thickness in childrens shoes manufactured by the conventional stitchdown method has effectively precluded the fabrication of such shoes having the essential daintiness obtainable by other conventional manufacturing methods and has resulted in placing such shoes at a decided commercial disadvantage from a sales standpoint.

Attempts have been made heretofore to produce a stitchdown shoe having a sole portion of decreased thickness; however, such efforts have either resulted in a shoe of relatively poor appearance and unsatisfactory wearing qualities or in such a departure from the stitchdown method of manufacture as to lose the commercial economics that flow therefrom.

This invention may be briefly described as an improved method for the manufacture of stitchdown shoes which provides additional economics of manufacture over the conventional stitchdown method and results in a finished shoe having an appreciably decreased composite sole thickness with no decrease in wearing quality. Other advantages attendant the herein described invention are the permitted elimination of several of the heretofore conventionally employed stitchdown fabricating operations, a substantially nailless fabrication method and the provision of a finished stitchdown shoe of better appearance, fit and flexibility.

The primary object of this invention is the provision of an improved method for the manufacture of stitchdown shoes.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an improved stitchdown method of shoe manufacture that results in a finished stitchdown shoe of improved appearance, better fit, greater flexibility and having a sole portion of appreciably reduced thickness with no sacrifice in wearing qualities.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be disclosed inthe following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example, the principles underlying the invention and the presently preferred steps incorporating those principles.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 is an oblique exploded view of certain shoe components at the commencement of the herein described method of manufacture;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a shoe subassembly at an intermediate stage' of the improved fabricating process;

Fig. 3 is an oblique exploded view of certain shoe components at a further fabrication stage; and

Fig. 4 is an oblique view of a portion of a shoe at the conclusion of the herein described method of manufacture.

As schematically illustrated in the drawings and in particular in Figure 1 the improved method includes the placing of a prefabricated upper subassembly blank, generally designated 10, upon a suitable form or last 12. The upper subassembly blank preferably includes an upper blank 13, a soft vamp lining portion 14, suitably cloth, a heel counter 16 having an outwardly turned dependent edge and a heel lining portion 18, suitably soft leather. A flexible insole 19 and a reusable midsole member 20, which may be termed a lasting midsole or a midsole form are then placed against the sole portion of the last 16, as indicated by the arrow on Figure l and temporarily secured thereto in proper positional relationship relative to the outwardly turned dependent edges of the upper subassembly blank 10, as by a plurality of lightly driven tacks 21.

The outwardly turned edges of the upper subassembly blank 10 are then temporarily secured orlasted to the peripheral edge portion of the lasting midsole 20 as by thread lasting as indicated by the stitching 22 (Figure 2). The stitching 22 should be of such character as to firmly secure the upper subassembly blank 10 and the lasting midsole 20 together and yet permit ready separation thereof by a simple manual operation at a later stage of the fabrication process. Suitable stitching to effect this result is the conventional thread lasting stitch modified to have an elongate extending end which permits ready removal thereof by a manual pulling of said extended end. After the upper subassembly blank 10 and lasting midsole 20 have been temporarily secured together as described above and as illustrated in Figure 2 the shoe subassembly as so constituted is subjected to the conventional toe molding and drying operation including insertion of the shoe in a toe molding machine and a subsequent drying thereof to cause the upper to shrink and closely assume the form of the last 12.

Subsequent to the molding and drying operation the midsole form or lasting midsole 20 is removed from the heretofore described threaded engagement with the outwardly turned edges of the upper blank 10, preferably by pulling the end of the thread utilized to form the connecting stitching 22 leaving the flexible inuersole 19 in position against the bottom of the last 12. After the lasting midsole 20 is removed from secured engagement with the upper blank 10 the dependent edges of the linings 14 and 18 are wiped inwardly and are adhesively secured in overlying relation against the surface of the inuersole 19 as indicated in Figure 3.

For the illustrated spring heel type of shoe, after adhesive securement of the lining portions 14 and 18 to the flexible innersole 19 as described above, suitable adhesive is applied to the extending edge portions of the heel counter 16 and to the peripheral edge portions of a suitably sized and contoured heel wedge 26 and the heel wedge is adhesively secured in proper position and against the heel portion of the shoe. After adhesive securement of the heel wedge 26 as described above suitable adhesive is applied to the extending edge portions of the upper 13, to the periphery of the heel wedge 26 and to the peripheral edge portions of a suitably sized outsole 24 of desired wearing qualities. The cemented outsole is then pressed into engagement with the above described outwardly turned and cemented edge portion of the upper and the cemented portion of the heel wedge 26 as indicated by the arrows .in Figure 3 in a conventional sole press.

Alternatively, the heel wedge 26 may be omitted and the outsole may be cemented directly to the outwardly turned edges of the upper end heel counter. In such construction, a heel member must be secured in proper position in relation to the underside of the outsole, after the latter has been threadedly secured to the upper as described below.

After adhesive securement of the outsole 2 to the outwardly turned edges of the upper 13 and heel counter 16, the peripheral edge of the sole portion may be rough rounded by conventional operations. Subsequent to the rough rounding of the periphery of the sole portion a welt strip is applied in overlaying relation with the outwardly turned edge of the upper 13 and the welt strip 28, the. outwardly turned edge of the upper 13, the outwardly turned edge of the heel counter 16 and the outsole 24 are secured together with a conventional Goodyear stitch and the shoe is subjected to the conventional finishing operations.

By the above series of operations, a finished shoe with a greatly decreased composite sole thickness is obtained with no loss in desired wearing qualities occasioned by reduced outside thickness. The finished shoe because of the elimination of the midsole results in a greatly decreased composite sole edge thickness, a lighter weight shoe and a shoe of greater flexibility and improved ap pearance.

The utilization of a midsole form or lasting midsole asdescribed above permits retention of all the normal manufacturing economics attendant the stitchdown method of fabrication and moreover permits additional economics through elimination of the heretofore conventional operations performed on the Rex assembling and pullover machines. In addition further economics result from the elimination of the usual tack pulling operations as well as from the permitted reuse of the lasting midsole.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In the stitchdown method of shoe fabrication, the

steps of placing a lined upper upon a last with the dependent edges thereof turned outwardly, temporarily securing a lasting midsole in threaded engagement with the outwardly turned edges of said upper, molding and drying said lasted upper, removing said lasting midsole from secured engagement with said upper, wiping the lining of said lined upper inwardly and adhesively securing the same to an innersole and permanently securing an outsole to the outwardly turned edges of said upper.

2. In the stitchdown method of shoe manufacture the steps of placing a lined upper upon a last with the dependent edges thereof turned outwardly, temporarily securing a lasting midsole in threaded engagement with the outwardly turned edges of said upper, molding and drying said lasted upper, removing said lasting midsole from secured engagement with said upper, wiping the lining of said lined upper inwardly and adhesively securing the same to an innersole, adhesively securing an outsole to the outwardly turned edges of said upper and threadedly securing said outsole to said outwardly turned edges of said upper.

3. In the stitchdown method of shoe manufacture, the steps of placing a lined upper on a last temporarily securing a flexible innersole and a reusable lasting midsole in threaded engagement with the outwardly turned dependent edges of said lined upper, molding and drying said lasted upper, removing said reusable lasting midsole from secured engagement with said upper, cementing and wiping said lining in over the peripheral edge of said flexible inner sole, cementing the peripheral edge of an outsole to the outwardly turned edge portion of said upper and threadedly securing said outsole to said outwardly turned edge of said upper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,764,105 lung June 17, 1930 2,019,459 Maccarone Oct. 29, 1935 2,032,655 Finberg et al. Mar. 3, 1936 2,436,050 Miner Feb. 17, 1948 2,789,295 Rollman et al Apr. 23, 1957 

